Kyle & Kim Wedding

Prelude

Processional W/ Song (congregation stands at the entrance of the bride)

Presentation of the Bride

Minister: “Who gives this woman in marriage?”

Father: “ I do.”

Father kisses his daughter and gives her to the groom.

Minister: (To the congregation) You may be seated.

Call to Worship

Our Lord Jesus said: “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh” (Mark 10:6–8). Let us worship God as we now witness the marriage of Kyle and Kim.

Preface

We have come together here in the sight of God and in the presence of this congregation to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is an honorable state of life, instituted in the beginning by God himself, signifying to us the spiritual union that is between Christ and the church.

Christ adorned and beautified matrimony with his presence and with the first sign by which he revealed his glory at a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and Holy Scripture demands that all should hold it in honor.

It is therefore not to be entered upon unadvisedly, lightly, or merely to satisfy physical desires, but prayerfully, with careful thought and with reverence for God, duly considering the purposes for which it was ordained.

It was ordained for the procreation of children and that they might be brought up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord, to the praise of his holy name.

It was ordained so that those to whom God has granted the gift of marriage might live a chaste and holy life, as befits members of Christ’s body.

And it was ordained for the mutual companionship, help, and comfort that the one ought to have to the other, both in prosperity and adversity.

Charge

Kyle and Kim, today you are presenting yourselves before this congregation to declare your intention of uniting your lives voluntarily and honorably for the service of God and man. You are making a double dedication: to each other, in a lasting and indivisible union that shall endure for the remaining years of your lives, and to God, that he may make you his dual instrument for the accomplishment of his purpose both in and by your personalities. The achievement of this purpose will require appreciation of each other’s abilities and virtues, forgiveness of each other’s faults, and unfailing devotion to each other’s welfare and development. There must be on your part a united consent to the purpose of God as he progressively reveals it to you by his Word and by his Spirit, and an unhesitant acceptance by faith of the challenges that he sets before you.

I charge you, therefore, first of all to consider that your promises to each other are made in the presence of a God who remembers your pledges and who holds you responsible for performing them. They must be kept inviolable before him.

I admonish you to keep in mind that each of you is the object of Christ’s redemption and should be valued accordingly. Neither should be neglected or belittled by the other. Esteem each other as God’s gift for mutual aid, comfort, and joy, and as a repository of complete confidence and trust.

I encourage you to share willingly and sympathetically your joys and worries, your successes and your struggles, and to be neither conceited by the former nor depressed by the latter. Whichever may prevail, cling closely to each other, that defeats may be met by united strength, and victories by united joy.

I charge you to make your home a place where you can have a refuge from the storms of life, not only for yourselves, but also for others who may be your guests. Let it be a haven for the weary, a source of uplift for the discouraged, and a convincing testimony to a cynical world.

In short, recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as head of the house, the ruler of your destinies, and the object of your deepest affection. If you do, he will confirm your marriage by his guidance and will overshadow it by his peace.

I charge you to love each other, to support each other, and to serve Christ with sincere hearts and determined wills until your mutual service for him shall be completed.

Consent

Minister: “Kyle Phillip Owens, will you have Kim Renee Smalley as your wife, to live together as God has ordained, in the holy state of matrimony? Will you love her, cherish her, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?”

Groom: “I will.”

Minister: “Kim Renee Smalley, will you have Kyle Phillip Owens, as your husband, to live together as God has ordained, in the holy state of matrimony? Will you love him, honor and protect him, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”

Bride: “I will.”

Reading of the Word of the Lord

Genesis 2:23 “23 And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man.

Ephesians 5:22-33 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

Sermon: Ephesians 5:22–33; Genesis 2:23

Kyle and Kim, there will never be another day like today.

There will never be a day so anticipated, dreamed of, discussed, prepared for, choreographed, or expensive!

The uniqueness of this day lies in this: God has called you to become one. Your parents have recognized this and stand with you in joyous support. Your family and friends realize the same and are here to celebrate. What a great day this is! May God fix in your minds the sweet memory of this—your wedding day.

The Well

Let your marriage be a Christian marriage. Both of you should strive to know and love Christ, and desire that he be at the very center of your lives and first in your marriage. As a consciously Christian marriage, the intimacy and commitment that you desire is drawn from the well of the sixth day of creation, when Eve was taken out of Adam’s side so that he might embrace with great love a part of himself. Adam’s shout of ecstasy upon seeing Eve was:

“This is at last bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.” (Gen. 2:23)

This rapturous cry records the first human words quoted in the Bible, as well as the first poetic couplet in God’s Holy Word. Such astonished ecstasy! Adam had found his longed-for love. And because God had just honed Adam’s naming powers, he spontaneously declared:

“She shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.”

The sound play of their names celebrated their relationship.

Adam had restated his own name embedded in hers, trumpeting the greatest intimacy.

Adam’s shout echoes down to this day (your wedding day), proclaiming loudly the joy and intimacy of marriage. There in Genesis, Adam’s voice subsides, and the voice of Moses concludes, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).

Moses’s words became the deep well for the Bible’s teaching on marriage. Jesus himself would quote them as the very Word of God: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Matt. 19:5).

The apostle Paul drew from the deep well of Genesis when he concluded his teaching on marriage by again quoting Moses, saying: “ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:31–32).

Christian Marriage and the Cross

Kyle and Kim, in the light of Paul’s teaching that marriage evokes the mystery of Christ and the church, you must understand that without the cross, your marriage is not a Christian marriage. Marriage is about dying, because that is what Christ did for his bride: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25).

Today, as you are joined in marriage, a single man and a single woman will die, and the two of you shall become one flesh. These sacred moments mark the end of your former life. Your joyous wedding is the beginning of a sacred death. Christian wedding vows mark the sweet inception of a lifelong death to self, giving over not only all that you have but all that you are. This is a daunting reality, and it is so beautiful—an enduring glory to Christ and his church.

So on this your long-awaited wedding day, I challenge you to raise the cross over your lives, so that it towers over all, because that is what makes your marriage Christian. And, of course, the cross is the road to a particular joy: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:25). May you find your life together ever more full and joyous.

Kyle and Kim, lift high the cross!

The Covenant

Along with the cross, you must embrace the fact that marriage is not a contractual relationship but a lifelong covenant. It is not a Christian marriage if it is conditional or contractual. Christian marriage calls for a solemn oath before God—swearing together before him that you will never, ever break your promise.

God is smiling on you on this day of your public covenant before the church and the state. This is so liberating, because your solemn word—“… in sickness and in health … to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live, until death do us part”—frees you to work things out through the ups and downs of life.

Kyle and Kim, you have a lifetime to explore and celebrate your oneness! You have the space to grow because you can always be sure of each other’s commitment.

The Christ

There is the cross, there is the covenant, and there is the Christ—the grand key to marriage. Make Christ is the center of your lives, and he will grace your intimacy as you draw near to him. Temple Gardner caught it perfectly with this prayer:

That I may come near to her,

draw me nearer to Thee than to her,

make me know Thee more than her,

That I may love her with a perfect love.…

Cause me to love Thee more than her.

Kyle and Kim, determine to draw nearer to Christ than to each other, to know him more than one another, so that you will love each other with a perfect love!

Kyle and Kim, go to the well of the sixth day.

May you always be dazzled with each other.

May you be amazed that God has given you such a love.

May you plumb the depths and heights of each other’s being.

May every season of life be graced with a deeper love.

May your love grace your families.

May your love grace the church.

May your love grace a needy world.

Lift high the cross.

Keep the covenant.

Run to Jesus, the Christ.

Vows

Repeated after me:

Groom: “I, Kyle, take you, Kim, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”

Bride: “I, Kim, take you, Kyle, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”

Rings

Minister: “Lord, bless these rings, that as Kyle and Kim wear them, they may abide in you and continue in your favor until their lives shall end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Groom(repeating after the minister): “Kim, this ring I give you, in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love.”

Bride(repeating after the minister): “Kyle, this ring I give you, in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love.”

Pronouncement

Minister: “Forasmuch as Kyle and Kim have consented together in holy wedlock and have witnessed the same before God and this people and have pledged their faith to each other and have declared the same by the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce them husband and wife together, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Those whom God has joined together let no one put asunder.”

Prayer/Benediction

Minister: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.”

Kiss

Minister: “You may kiss your bride.”

Introduction

Minister: “May I present Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Owens.”

Recessional (Song)

Postlude Final Instructions:

Reception will be held at the Fireman's Clubhouse by Litchfield lake. Guests can arrive at 4, open seating.

I will dismiss you beginning with the front pews.